Maths students are losing a month a year because of scattergun teaching
methods, a new study by the UCL Institute of Education and the University of
Cambridge has found

Maths students are losing a month a year because of scattergun teaching methods, a new study has found.

The research by the UCL Institute of Education and the University of Cambridge found that students who covered fewer topics with greater depth had roughly one extra month of progress over the academic year.

The study revealed that introducing a “mastery” teaching approach, which has for long now been championed in Singapore, improves a child’s learning in maths.

It also showed that an additional month of progress in maths has a direct positive impact on wages.

Researchers said the so-called maths mastery teaching programme is “radically different” from the way maths is taught in England. They added: “Fewer topics are covered in greater depth, with every child expected to master the material before the class moves to the next part of the syllabus.

The UK has for years looked up to Singapore and other East Asian countries, as students there significantly outperform their British counterparts in international league tables.

However, up to now there had been very little evidence that these approaches could be successfully introduced in British classrooms, due to historical or cultural differences.

The researchers, however, implemented this “mastery” method of teaching in a selection of England’s schools for one academic year. It involved more than 10,000 pupils in Year 1 and Year 7 in 90 primary schools and 50 secondary schools.

Schools saw a small increase in their maths test scores compared to pupils in other schools, which was roughly the equivalent of one extra month of progress over the academic year.

The researchers also found that a small improvement in age 10 maths skills increases average wages by around £100 to £200 per year.

The Singapore 'mastery' approach to maths could help boost teaching in the UK

The study’s lead author, Dr John Jerrim, UCL Institute of Education, said: “Maths Mastery shouldn’t be seen as a ‘silver bullet’; there is no escaping that the effect of the programme was relatively small, though welcome. Yet, given the low cost per pupil, it may nevertheless be a programme worth pursuing.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Ensuring every young person leaves school with good maths and numeracy skills is a key part of our commitment to delivering real social justice.

"We are pleased this research confirms that adopting a Singaporean 'mastery' approach to teaching will help us to achieve this.

"Since January, thanks to our reforms 72 schools linked to Maths Hubs have been trialling new textbooks based on the Singapore approach to maths to see how they drive up standards.

“In addition, our new world-class maths curriculum was developed to reflect key principles of the Singapore approach, ensuring that young people leave school able to compete with their peers across the globe.”